Rosaura

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"
If you were tall enough, you might
have seen a little splash of red in the tall
grass. And if you had looked closer you
might have seen a small girl wearing
a red ribbon.
Rosaura was hiding from her
mother and father. It was her favourite
game. She crouched quietly, listening
to the faint sound of her mother's voice.
All Rosaura could see were the swaying
green stalks of the corn. They rustled
above her head where the sky stretched
clear and blue. Suddenly, a bright
yellow butterfly darted by. Rosaura
jumped up to chase the butterfly, forgetting all about her hiding game.
"Rosaura! There you are," called
her mother. "It's time for lunch."
It was dark and cool in the cottage
where Rosaura lived with her parents.
Rosaura ate her meal quickly. She
Read this text carefully. Identify the structure of the
story based on the example in Activity 5.
wanted to go back into the sunshine to
play. As soon as she had finished her
food she slipped down from her chair.
"Rosaura, where are you going?"
called her mother.
She caught a glimpse of Rosaura's
red ribbon disappearing around the
door. But Rosaura was already through
the gate, and heading for the fields.
"Rosaura! Rosaura!"
Was that the sound of her mother
calling, or the wind whispering in
the corn? Rosaura was not sure. All
day long through the hot summers
she loved to run in the fields. Her feet
were scratched and her toes bruised
on stones as she chased after the mice
hiding in the corn stalks. Her skin
was brown as a nut from the sun. In
her tangled black hair, her red ribbon
fluttered.
The afternoon stretched out long
and hot. As the sun reached the far side
of the field, Rosaura's father walked
back to the cottage. His eyes scanned
the fields for Rosaura's red ribbon. But
it was nowhere to be seen.
"Hasn't Rosaura come back yet?"
asked her father as he came through
the door.
"Not yet," said her mother, "I'm
sure she'll be back soon."

But the supper was ready and still
there was no sign of Rosaura. Now
the sun had set, casting a red glow
over the fields. Rosaura's mother and
father stood at the door of their cottage,
staring over the field, looking for the
red ribbon.
"Rosaura! Rosaura!"
Soon the shadows were deep blue
in the yard. It was too dark to see the
red ribbon now. Rosaura's parents
began to walk and call for her in the
field. As night fell, they fetched lamp
that lit up patches of corn and grass
and startled the sleeping mice. But they
could find no red ribbon.
Rosaura's parents called and called
all through the night. In the dawn, they
stood alone and sad amongst the corn.
The red morning sun lit up their tired
faces.
"Look!" cried Rosaura's mother
suddenly. "There she is!"
They began to run towards the red
ribbon that she had spotted among the
corn. But oh! It wasn't Rosaura's ribbon
at all, but the red petals of a flower.
Rosaura's mother and father had never
seen such a flower before. Her father
looked away in disappointment.
"I see her!" he cried.
And again they ran towards the
dear red ribbon. But it was another red
flower. As the sun came up bright and
strong, Rosaura's mother and father
looked around the field. It was filled
with red flowers swaying and fluttering
in the tall grass. Rosaura's mother and
father felt so sad.
"Rosaura won't be coming home
anymore," said her mother. "She was
always happier in the fields."
"But the spirits have left us these
flowers to remind us of her," said
Rosaura's father.
"They will stay with us!"
Every year, when the corn ripened
and the evenings grew long, Rosaura's
parents stood at the edge of the fields
and watched the red flowers dancing
under the sun.
And that, say the Indians, is how
the red poppy came to be.